Supplement 5: Capturing and Valuing Feedback

Chapter Outline

• Introduction to Consumer Behavior
• The Interconnectedness and Results of Marketing with Capturing Feedback
• Innovation and Facilitating Feedback
• Conclusion

Introduction to Consumer Behavior

For pop-up restaurants, in order to capture and evaluate feedback, understanding consumer behavior is a critical control point for operators. There are many facets that are associated with consumer behavior, such as age, socioeconomic status, location, attitudes, and previous experiences in which service is executed.

Consumer behavior is described as the study of groups, individuals, and organizations in relation to goods and services. How these overall emotions and preferences impact buying behavior has direct connections to generational segments.

Here is a breakdown of generational segments that data and consumer scientists classify and use for understanding and facilitating feedback:

Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, have a strong work effort, enjoy competition, are resourceful, and work well in team environments.

Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1979, value diversity, enjoy creative environments, are entrepreneurial, and have independent thoughts.

Generation Yers or millennials were born between 1980 and 1996; are creative, technology savvy, and strategic with purchases; and embrace diversity.

Generation Zers were born between 1997 and 2012, are financially focused, embrace mental health, are politically progressive, grew up with technology, and incorporate inclusivity into their daily lives.

Generation Alphas were born starting in the year 2012, are digitally native, and are immersed with technology.

Operators that can fully understand these consumer segments’ common interests and needs provide opportunities to capture feedback.

The Interconnectedness and Results of Marketing with Capturing Feedback

As pop-up restaurants focus on and execute customer and consumer experiences, there are connections to the concept of marketing strategies designed by businesses. The following terms and concepts allow operators to theoretical plan for impacting the feedback loop:

Differentiation. Differentiation is important as consumers select one brand over another.

Segmentation. Segmentation is how consumer markets are divided so restaurants can better ensure guest satisfaction. Key segment areas include geographic, demographic, psychographic, volume, and behavior.

Positioning. Positioning defines how pop-up restaurants and the items being sold stand in relation to other similar products the competition is selling and offering.

Marketing strategies for pop-up restaurants focus on product, price, place, promotion, people, and positioning. Each of these attributes can result in developing indicators that operators use to anticipate consumer behaviors.

Innovation and Facilitating Feedback

For pop-up restaurants, sensory analysis and critical consciousness provide opportunities to receive feedback and enhance consumer experiences.

Sensory analysis allows for the interplay of experimental design as to how human senses can be used to evaluate products and experiences. Sensory evaluation measures, analyzes, and interprets sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound.

For pop-up restaurants, texture, luster, colors, sizes, shapes, and odors can sway the food and beverage experience. These overall sensory attributes, when considering capturing and valuing feedback, can determine consumer preferences. In order to finalize consumer feedback, operators can look at analytical, effective, and perception-based testing to confirm the qualitative analysis.

Critical consciousness is defined as a deep and in-depth understanding of social behaviors, political and social movements, and oppressive elements in our communities, along with being willing to take a personal stance to change these systems. Within critical consciousness, we also have critical consumption, which is when customers make a conscious course of buying or not buying products.

Social movements are key factors in decision-making, such as purchasing local, environmentally safe, and ethical products. Previous trauma as a consumer can impact how guests respond to service and can impact their holistic experience. From a capturing and valuing feedback perspective, critical consumption is a driving force with millennials, Generation Zers, and Generation Alphas.

Conclusion

Pop-up restaurants need to constantly look for ways to ask the why and how questions that will lead to improved performance and an enhanced guest experience. Effective frameworks leading to improved operations will allow for the evaluation and feedback of service and will allow operators to analyze sales data along with consumer behavior.

KEY TERMS

• Consumer behavior
• Baby boomers
• Generation X
• Generation Y or millennials
• Generation Z
• Generation Alpha
• Differentiation
• Segmentation
• Positioning
• Sensory analysis
• Critical consciousness

REVIEW Questions

1. What various groups does consumer behavior consist of?

2. How do generational segments impact capturing and evaluating feedback?

3. What are the seven key segments in regard to segmentation?

4. What are some aspects of sensory analysis discussed in this chapter?

5. What are the five major stages when producing wine?

6. How can critical consciousness impact buying and decision-making?